The Rural Voice, 2019-06, Page 73micro-organism itself and its impacts
on the human body,” said Melanie
Wills, director of the G. Magnotta
Lyme Disease Research Lab at the
University of Guelph.
The lab started from scratch more
than a year ago, diving headlong into
research for a disease that became
officially recognized in Canada in
2009.
“We do have several prongs of
investigation underway,” she said,
explaining that some researchers are
looking at the microbiology, while
others are looking at health impacts
and how to develop a concrete, quick
testing method.
“That’s a main staple of our
mandate,” said Wills, talking about
the concerns Lyme patients voice
about testing.
She said that currently, it takes four
weeks to be reactive to the current
test. If someone has been bitten, the
optimal treatment time for antibiotics
is right away.
“I don’t want to wait four weeks
and give that pathogen a chance to
migrate,” Wills said. “Right now, we
have a major, major technical
limitation of the test.”
The issues are further complicated
by the different co-infections that can
be picked up by the tick bite.
“There’s no gold standard for
consistent treatment protocol,” Wills
explained, adding that doctors vary in
their understanding and approaches to
treating Lyme disease.
There are two camps of belief
within the medical community about
treating long-standing Lyme. “That’s
a pretty controversial area,” she said,
noting that some doctors do not
subscribe to the belief that long-term
antibiotics have an effect. “There’s
nothing consistent,” Wills said, noting
that there is also fear and
misinformation about doctors being
investigated for giving out long-range
antibiotics to treat historic Lyme
disease.
For Costigan, she had to travel to a
specialist in New Jersey to get the
treatment that she needed. The doctor
listened to her for four hours, hearing
about the years of pain and confusion.
Two weeks later, Costigan sat in
front of the doctor in her office with a
brown envelope filled with test
results. She had Lyme disease. The
doctor explained she was suffering
three co-infections from different
strains of virus transmitted from the
tick, mono and fibromyalgia. “I was
on high doses of antibiotics,” she said,
explaining the long recovery filled
with several long-range antibiotics.
The American treatment cost her
nearly $100,000. “It was all out of
pocket,” she said, explaining if she
hadn’t sought the treatment, “I’m not
sure I’d be here.” She said that
awareness is the most important — for
doctors and the general public. “I
don’t wish this on my worst enemy,”
Costigan said. “There needs to be a lot
more talk about it.”◊
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
* The Rural Voice is provided to OFA
Members in Bruce County by the BCFANEWSLETTER
Email: bruce@ofa.on.ca
website: brucefederation.ca
JUNE 2019 69
Continued from page 68
Lyme Disease an issue for Bruce/Grey County
Submitted by Patrick Jilesen OFA Zone 2 director
As the weather warms, Public Health Units are warning residents about the risk of tick
bites and the threat they pose to both people and pets. Lyme disease is spread through the
bite of an infected blacklegged tick.
Listed below are helpful resources that will provide information on tick identification, habitat
and removal; the symptoms and dangers of Lyme disease; and how to protect yourself and
minimize the risk of being bitten. First and foremost, reduce the risk of Lyme disease by
covering up, using bug spray and always wearing protective clothing such as long pants,
socks and closed-toe footwear when entering tick habitat.
Key Information:
• Public Health Units are noticing an increased population of both Blacklegged (deer) Ticks
and Dog Ticks; it is only the Blacklegged (deer) Ticks that can potentially carry Lyme
disease.
• Blacklegged Ticks are much smaller than Dog Ticks.
• Be aware that according to Lyme Ontario, those various “home remedies” you may have
heard for tick removal have not been proven effective and can potentially do more harm than
good. Please be advised that under no circumstances should a flame, ointment, flammable
liquid (gasoline, oil, lighter fluid, acetone, nail polish, etc.) or caustic material be used in
removal attempts. Seek the attention of a doctor to remove the tick or refer to the material
below to find out how to properly remove a tick at home.
• If you (or someone you know) have been bitten by a tick, once you have removed it
carefully, you can bring it to your local Public Health Unit for identification. If it is determined
that it’s a Blacklegged tick, the Public Health Unit will send it to be tested for Lyme disease.
• Blacklegged ticks cannot jump or fly. Instead, they seek hosts by climbing on vegetation
such as grasses or shrubs in the woods (especially along trails) as well as the fringe area
between the woods and border. Ticks will wait for a host to rub against them and climb onto
the host’s body, eventually attempting to attach and feed.
• Tick bites are generally painless, so a visual check of the skin is necessary. A tick bite can
happen anywhere, but it is particularly important to check for ticks if you have been walking
or working in potential tick habitat or in areas of higher tick populations, as promptly removing
ticks can help prevent infection.
• In Ontario, blacklegged ticks are most commonly found in areas along the north shores of
Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.
• The greatest risk of getting Lyme disease is during the spring and summer months.
Resources:
• Helpful tips, resources and information from the Ontario Ministry of Health on Lyme Disease
on how to avoid bites from blacklegged ticks: https://www.ontario.ca/page/lyme-disease
• Resources and information from Public Health Ontario: https://www.publichealth
ontario.ca/en/BrowseByTopic/InfectiousDiseases/Pages/IDLandingPages/Lyme-
Disease.aspx
• Lyme Ontario has an excellent fact sheet of information on tick identification, avoidance and
removal, as well as the symptoms and testing for Lyme disease:
http://lymeontario.com/about/about-lyme-disease-2/
• Ontario Ministry of Labour developed a helpful resource for employers to help
protect outdoor workers from tick bites and Lyme disease:
https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/lyme.php